


The Greatest Show on Earth

by elcten881



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Circus, Circus, Dark, F/F, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Past Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:56:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21890815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elcten881/pseuds/elcten881
Summary: Roll up, Roll up! Come one, come all! To the first all female Circus! Laugh at the hilarious clown No-Jam, known to her friends as Yoo Jeongyeon! Witness the fantastic gymnasts J-Trinity as their mid-air acts stun and amaze audiences! Be amazed at Kim Dahyun, the contortionist with rubber bones as she fits into spaces to small to fit a mouse! Shake with fear at the mighty beasts trained by non-other than Son Chaeyoung! And finally be transfixed by the world of magic, shown to you by Im Nayeon and her beautiful assistant Chou Tzuyu. I am your ringmaster Park Jihyo inviting you to the greatest show on earth!
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Minatozaki Sana, Hirai Momo/Kim Dahyun, Im Nayeon/Yoo Jeongyeon, Myoui Mina/Son Chaeyoung
Comments: 1
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

Jihyo loved the circus.

From the high-wire acts that kept you on your toes, to the clowns that set you back in your seat laughing, Jihyo loved it all. Watching beautiful women fly through the air to be caught by strong muscle-covered men and looking at exotic animals performing tricks would always transfix a young Jihyo who dreamed of becoming a ringmaster one day - just like her uncle known worldwide as JYP. As she grew older this illusion began to shatter - she’d smell the booze on the breath of the clowns, she’d witness the female acrobats leaving the rooms of the strong men smelling of sex and regret, she’d witness the torture each of those poor beautiful animals went through.

She’d brought all this up to her uncle when she was fifteen, only for him to laugh at her and say he didn’t care about the behaviour of his acts as long as they put on a good show. This forced Jihyo to view her uncle quite differently and the circus no longer held the magic and wonder it once did. However, her dream didn’t change. She still longed to own a circus of her own. Not like her uncle’s though, no way.

She vowed to be different.

So now, as a young adult with inheritance burning a hole in her pocket, she was finally in charge of her own circus. She’d purchased all the necessary equipment - like the big top, the silks, the high-wires. She’d even brought a train, most circus’ used caravans but Jihyo wanted a train. All she needed were the staff. Jihyo had decided long ago that her circus would be female only, the best acts in her uncle’s employ were run by men who treated their female assistants poorly. Some, Jihyo knew, would refuse to work for a female ringmaster. She had recruited a few acts already: some stilt walkers, fire eaters and of course her dear friend Im Nayeon. Nayeon had been Jihyo’s friend for as long as Jihyo had been coming to this particular circus. Nayeon’s father was a magician, her mother his assistant and both had taught her everything they knew and had even helped her create her own tricks. When Nayeon had said she was leaving to join Jihyo her parents were very proud - planning to retire soon anyway.

Due to growing up within the circus, Nayeon knew many members of other circus’ they could scout. Including a large variety of South Korean circus’. The first name on Nayeon’s list was Yoo Jeongyeon. Jeongyeon was somewhat infamous, the only daughter of a famous clown, she had built a reputation for arguing with her sexist ringmaster. However, this led to her bullying him as part of her clown act which audiences loved. Nayeon had met Jeongyeon in passing once or twice and had often heard the girl’s plans to escape to a better circus. Once hearing this Jihyo looked up where Jeongyeon’s circus was currently, luckily not to far, so she could send Nayeon to do the negotiating.

After an hours travel Nayeon reached the circus’ camping ground. Like most normal circus’ the big top was surrounded by a legion of filthy caravans. Nayeon’s nose wrinkled at the stench as she walked past each of the caravans until she found the one she was looking for. Knowing Jeongyeon as long as she had, Nayeon knew how much of a neat freak the girl was so obviously her trailer was the only spotlessly clean one. Nayeon walked up and knocked, the door opened to reveal a tall, blonde haired girl.

“Nayeon?” Jeongyeon greeted surprised, “Hey, how’s it going?”

“Y’know same old, same old!” Nayeon said hugging her old friend,

Jeongyeon invited her in too the immaculate caravan. Nayeon flopped on to the lumpy sofa with a groan of relaxation. Unlike other caravans Nayeon had seen Jeongyeon’s was neat and tidy, not even a glass left to be washed up in the pure white porcelain sink. After a brief catch up Jeongyeon got down to business, “So, not that I’m not glad to see you, but what brings you here?”

Nayeon leaned forward, “A business proposal.”

Jeongyeon quirked and eyebrow, “Business proposal?”

“You remember Jihyo? JYP’s niece?”

“Yeah I remember her.”

“Well she’s starting her own circus, different from everyone else’s.”

Jeongyeon scoffed, “They all say that.”

“No for real,” Nayeon continued, “All female, equal pay for each act and the best part is every act is welcome. We need a good clown and you’re one of the best.”

“I don’t know, Nay.”

“C’mon Jeong! Would you rather stay here until you’re old, grey and looking like Pennywise?”

“Who’s the main attraction?”

Nayeon stammered, “W-Well we’re still recruiting.”

“So there’s no hook, no main act? This is going to flop.”

“Then help us!”

Jeongyeon paused for a moment before sighing, “Tell you what, the Japanese Circus is in Seoul for the next two days. Rumour has it that J-Trinity want out, if you can recruit them I’m in.”

“Deal!”

STEP ONE: SEND IN THE CLOWNS COMPLETE

________

Once Nayeon had returned with the required information she and Jihyo arranged to meet with the world famous gymnasts named J-Trinity. J-Trinity were a group of three Japanese women who each took part in various high-wire acts that required gymnastic skill. They’d become well known for their beauty, attracting people from miles around to watch them perform. Jeongyeon had informed Nayeon that recently J-Trinity had, had their pay cut due to a new daredevil act wanting more payment so they were looking to relocate. This proved lucky for Jihyo as they eagerly agreed to meet with her.

J-Trinity consisted of Hirai Momo, Minatozaki Sana and Myoui Mina. Momo was the oldest and the main choreographer of their routines. She was known as the ‘Dancing Mochine’ as every move she made during her silk performances was calculated and choreographed well to prevent her from falling. She also had a habit of dancing both with or without music….unless she was eating. Besides her legendary silk performances Momo was also well known for her stomach. She could eat men three times her size under the table.

Sana was the eye-candy of the group. While all the girls were attractive Sana just had this way of going from adorable to sexy in mere seconds. The cute part was mostly helped, however, by her clumsiness. She constantly had bruises from where she had fallen or bumped her knee, it also meant that it would take her twice as much practice to get her tightrope routines right. However, when it came to performance day she easily proved to audiences time and again that she deserved to be known as one of the greats.

Finally there was Mina, the youngest…who was pretty much in charge of the trio behind the scenes. She was mainly a rhythmic gymnast, using her years of ballet training to her advantage and producing some of the greatest floor work in modern day circus. Unlike her joyful counterparts Mina was cool and collected, rarely showing any strong emotion bar a smirk or small smile. This earned her the title of The Black Swan of Japan - a name she was known worldwide for.

Jihyo had heard about this trio time and again as her uncle had been trying to recruit them for years. So as they sat opposite her in a small cafe in Daegu, Jihyo was visibly very intimidated. She spent the first ten minuets watching Momo devour the slice of cake she’d purchased for the dancer. Sana giggled when Momo was finally finished, chocolate covering her mouth, while Mina merely sighed and looked at Jihyo.

“So this circus,” She said, “What makes it different?”

“Equal pay for all performers---”

“Excluding yourself?”

“Including me.”

That surprised Mina, maybe this circus would be different.

“Plus it’s all female.”

“YES!” Sana shouted high-fiving an equally excited Momo,

Mina looked over the carefully written plans Jihyo had provided, ignoring her companions’ comparison of who had the most attractive girl in the past week (making Jihyo look slightly green at the amount of detail being provided). It sounded perfect, however she did have one question.

“Are these all the acts?”

“They’re who we’ve found so far.”

“No animal tamers? No contortionists? Still makes for a pretty dull show.”

“Well you know that animals are….taboo in the circus nowadays.” Jihyo pointed out,

“Oh! Oh! Oh! What about Son Chaeyoung?”

“Son who?”

Mina blushed and looked down, “She’s an animal trainer, she has three lions she’s raised since cubs. Loves and cares for them like most people love their dogs.”

“Plus Minari has a huuuuuuge crush on her.”

Mina turned scandalized, “No not!”

“Do so!”

“Anyway,” Mina snapped still blushing, “Her circus is in Gangnam at the moment, but she has a friend Kim Dahyun--”

“Ah! I’ve heard of Dahyun: The Girl Made of Rubber.” Jihyo said,

“They’ll join if we do, Chaeyoung hates the ringmaster - he keeps telling her to whip her lions and she refuses to harm them.”

“Plush Dahmuns mexshi.” Momo said - mouth stuffed now with Sana’s slice of cake,

“So you’ll join?”

The trio exchanged a look and shrugged, “Anything’s better than were we are now!”

Silently celebrating she texted Nayeon to meet her in Gangnam the next day.

STEP TWO: GATHER THE GAYS COMPLETE!

______

Chaeyoung had been surprised at the arrival of Im Nayeon and the niece of JYP at her caravan that morning. She’d been on her way to feed her babies when she’d run into them - literally. She’d never met either girl before but when she found out that Mina had sent them…well…she didn’t want to send them away. If Mina heard them out so would she. So as she walked in to the huge area she had reserved for her lions to play in Jihyo and Nayeon told her all about the circus. She listened carefully, only getting distracted when Simba (the youngest lion) ran over too her to play. For safety Chaeyoung regularly filed down the lions claws, but they’d never hurt her. She’d only ever been bitten once.

Jihyo and Nayeon watched her from the outside, leaning against a random cabinet, “So what do you think?”

“I don’t know.” Chaeyoung answered honestly,

“C’mon Chaengie!” A muffled voice came from the cabinet scaring the two older girls,

Nayeon opened it revealing a girl with a tofu like complexion cramped inside, “New hiding place Dubu.”

“Yep!” Dahyun chirped as she got out, “Working didn’t it! Despite what baby beast says I’m in!”

“Awesome!” Jihyo cheered, “Chaeyoung?”

Chaeyoung thought for a moment, “You said the main transport would be train, I wouldn’t want my babies locked up for that long during transit.”

“We wont be driving through the night, stopping in the evenings and such. They could be left outside from then on.”

“And everyone is paid the same?”

“Equal shares, for me and you.”

Chaeyoung nodded, “Okay, let’s do it!”

“YES!” Dahyun cheered bounding up to her friend and causing one of the lions to growl at her, “Hehe sorry Kojack.”

Kojack was Chaeyoung’s eldest lion. She’d raised him from a cub and they had been everywhere together. It saddened Chae to know that her dear friend was getting old, even for a lion, he deserved a good few final years.

“Are there any more acts you need?” Chaeyoung asked,

Jihyo shook her head, “Just an assistant for Nayeon.”

“Have you tried the Chinese Circus? They’re in Seoul right now, it’s a male dominated circus so most of the women there would be happy to leave.”

“Hmm.”” Jihyo hummed before looking at Nayeon, “Back to Seoul?”

Nayeon groaned and demanded gas money.

STEP THREE: ENLIST BABY BEAST AND THE EAGLE COMPLETE!

_______

Jihyo and Nayeon crouched at the back of the big top watching the acts rehearse secretly. They couldn’t understand the language as neither was fluent in Chinese but Jihyo was able to pick out a few words. As Chaeyoung had said there were masses more male than female performers and from what they can see the women weren’t being treated very fairly. When the magician finally came out both girls were stunned when he began showing off his assistant. She was stunning, poised and composed - nothing like the showy girls they often saw in such performances. They performed a few simple tricks without fault, the climax being the assistant standing in front of a large target as the magician threw knives at her. She didn’t flinch.

Even when one knife cut too close and sliced her cheek.

There was a cry from the stands and a little girl came flying down the steps to where the assistant was stood…only for the magician to kick her away. From what Jihyo could tell the magician was yelling at his assistant for his badly aimed knife throw. As she ignored him and helped up the smaller girl the magician pulled her back to him and slapped her hard. The assistant flew to the floor and he left her there. Alone and bleeding, trying to comfort the scared young girl.

The two bystanders approached.

The assistant stood sharply and pulled the girl behind her, “Who are you?”

Jihyo smiled kindly and raised her hands to show no ill intent, “My name is Park Jihyo, this is Im Nayeon.”

The assistant eyed them both carefully, “Chou Tzuyu, and this is Jeon Somi.”

“She’s Korean.”

“She can speak for herself!” The little girl huffed stomping her foot,

“Aww you’re so cute!” Nayeon squealed, “How old are you?”

“Seven.”

Tzuyu rolled her eyes, “What do you want?”

“What if we told you we could take both you and Somi-ah away from that man.”

Tzuyu’s face betrayed nothing, “Go on?”

Jihyo and Nayeon grinned to each other.

STEP FOUR: MAGICAL PARTNERSHIP COMPLETE!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The crowd had formed an hour ago. A mass of acts and performers being assigned their cabin on the train. Jihyo stood overseeing it all from her spot on a large crate, watching the organised chaos around her with a large smile. Her dream was becoming a reality. The stilt walkers were showing off their skills to the jugglers, the acrobats were laughing as they jumped and flipped around. There was nothing but joy and excitement in the air, the sounds of laughter and chatter creating Jihyo’s perfect aesthetic. This, this is what Jihyo had been waiting for since she was a little girl. Nayeon stood next to her on the ground, looking out for one person in particular.

_She hadn’t changed her mind right?_

Nayeon hadn’t spoken to Jeongyeon in a while, their last text exchange had been last month when she had confirmed that J-Trinity would be joining them. Jeongyeon had responded that she would be there but nothing since. The magician began to worry, the clowns they had were good but not Jeongyeon good. Plus, Nayeon couldn’t deny part of her wanted the younger girl there for selfish reasons. She had always had a thing for Jeongyeon, usually they’d hook up whenever they crossed paths but the older girl had always longed for something more. Nayeon hoped that now that they would be working in the same circus they could attempt to pursue what she knew they both truly wanted.

Looking out once more over the crowd she spotted the taller girl and a grin spread across her face…before quickly fading. Jeongyeon wasn’t alone, she was laughing and joking with a girl Nayeon recognised as Momo. Jeongyeon’s arm was slung round the silk dancer’s shoulders as they talked, Mina and Sana following closely behind. Seeing Nayeon, Jeongyeon smiled and removed her arm to jog ahead.

“Nayeon!” She called happily,

“Jeongyeon.” Nayeon replied coldly,

Jihyo, ever vigilant, recognised Nayeon’s jealousy immediately. She rolled her eyes and hopped off the crate, extending her hand to the object of Nayeon’s affection, “Hi Jeongyeon.”

Jeongyeon shook it with a grin, “No need to be so formal, I remember you Jihyo!”

As they spoke J-Trinity approached, Sana announcing her presence as only she could.

“Hey! Jihyo!” She called, “I thought you said their were loads of hot women.”

“I never said---”

Nayeon rolled her eyes, “Don’t worry, there are plenty of beautiful women for you to pick at.”

“There better be.” Sana muttered folding her arms,

“Ignore her,” Mina told them kindly, “Her libido is too big.”

“Sana, Mina and I want to be roomed together,” Momo told Jihyo, “Or at least in the same carriage.”

Jihyo looked between them all, “Well each carriage have ten small rooms, we make up six.”

“Eight.” A new voice called,

The group turned to see Dahyun and Chaeyoung walking towards them. Chaeyoung had spent the last hour setting her babies up in the lion’s carriage and decorating the outside (plus the door) to let people know what was inside. It hurt her to see her babies locked up like that but Kojack had nuzzled her through the bars - he would be okay for a little while. Still she looked a little uncomfortable, Mina noticed and sent the girl a shy smile for comfort which the lion tamer returned.

“J-Trinity, Jeongyeon,” Jihyo began to introduce, “Meet Chaeyoung and Dahyun.”

Both girls bowed and Jeongyeon smiled at them, “What do you do?”

“I’m a contortionist.” Dahyun said with a cheeky grin,

“No way!” Momo breathed, “Show me?”

Dahyun sent her smirk to Momo before rolling her shoulders and falling into a backwards crab, head re-appearing through her legs, “Ta-da!”

“Wow.” Momo was drooling a little,

Sana giggled and whispered in her friend’s ear, “Ever done a contortionist before?”

“Fuck off, Sana.” Momo hissed back,

Nayeon clapped her hands together, “So that makes eight, just need two more.”

“Ooh!” Sana shouted excitedly, “I’ll find some pretty girls.”

“Please don’t make us room with two random pretty girls.” Mina groaned,

“Who said they would room with all of us?” Sana winked,

As she turned to start her quest her feet became tangled beneath her and when she turned she felt her balance leave her. Fully expecting her face was about to meet grass, she closed her eyes. Only before she hit the ground two strong arms caught her under her shoulders. She froze for a moment to make sure she really wasn’t falling, Sana heard a child giggling and so she opened her eyes and looked up to the cold face of her saviour. Why did this only ever happen when Sana was in front of hot women?

“Woah! That was so cool!” The little girl next to them shouted,

Tzuyu straightened Sana up right and immediately distanced herself. Jihyo took advantage of Sana’s embarrassed silence and smiled kindly at Tzuyu who was looking uncomfortable, “I didn’t know if you’d escape.”

“Nearly didn’t.”

Tzuyu’s face matched her words, a black eye was beginning to form and her lip was split. She also still had a scab marking what had once been a knife cut on her face. Jihyo nearly said something to comfort her but before she could Somi ran over and hugged her leg. The little girl thanked her for taking them in and Jihyo felt her heart break.

Jeongyeon and Nayeon exchanged a look, “And that makes ten!”

Jihyo smiled down at the young girl, “Carriage 10, go pick which room you want.”

Chaeyoung looked at Dahyun, “Race you!”

She took off and Dahyun smiled at Somi, “Come on Somi.”

The little girl looked to Tzuyu and the older girl nodded, with a laugh she ran after the two older girls towards Carriage 10. Sana, Momo and Mina followed along the latter two teasing Sana about her clumsiness. Jeongyeon and Nayeon quickly made their way to the carriage, bringing Chaeyoung and Dahyun’s bags with them and catching up on past events, leaving Jihyo and Tzuyu looking after them. Jihyo smiled at the woman before her before attempting to lead the way to the carriage - only an arm stopped her. She looked at Tzuyu in question as the girl struggled to find the Korean.

“Somi,” She finally said, “She will be safe here?”

Jihyo looked sincerely at her, “Of course.”

Tzuyu nodded, “I’ll hold you to that.”

“Please do.” Jihyo replied, “Come on, let’s see which rooms are left.”

The girl followed the ringmaster, staying behind her so that she wouldn’t see the small grateful smile that played on her busted lip. They made their way onto the train and walked to carriage ten. Somi, Chaeyoung and Dahyun had obviously arrived first - the two older girls immediately taking the biggest rooms. Somi had chosen her own room too, it wasn’t too big for her but it wasn’t the box room on the end. Soon the others arrived and made sure to each claim their own spaces, Jihyo and Tzuyu being forced to pick last. Tzuyu, having always been taught to obey the ringmaster, opted for the box room at the very end of the carriage - next to a certain clumsy woman’s room. Sana winked at her as she passed but Tzuyu just rolled her eyes.

Jihyo dumped her bag and went to check out the communal space at the front of the carriage, on her way she had stopped off to tell the strong-women where to take Nayeon’s magic stuff and J-Trinity’s gymnastic/acrobatic equipment. Nayeon inwardly cheered at her room choice - opposite Jeongyeon’s. The younger girl waved at her playfully and Nayeon beamed. Somi sat on her bed watching her adoptive sister in the room opposite, she was unpacking and winced every so often due to her injuries. This made Somi sad. Chaeyoung on the other hand disappeared quite quickly, wanting to make sure her babies were okay. Mina sighed and watched her go, she had gotten the room in between Chaeyoung and Nayeon. The Japanese girl had hoped to talk to the lion tamer a bit once she’d unpacked.

On the right side were: Tzuyu, Sana, Nayeon, Dahyun and Momo

On the left were: Somi, Jihyo, Jeongyeon, Chaeyoung and Mina

Sana was unpacking in her own room when she suddenly heard a pained yelp from the box room, her head snapped to her open door where she saw Jihyo running towards the tall girl’s room. Sana, curiosity getting the better of her, went to eavesdrop. Only Jihyo had closed Tzuyu’s door. The girl pressed her ear against it, the cool, translucent glass muffling the words.

_“...Tzuyu you should have that treated.”_

A small throat was cleared and Sana’s head snapped up to Somi who sat on her bed with a knowing smile. Red faced, Sana returned to her room - closing the door behind her. Meanwhile in another small room:

“Nayeon!?” Dahyun called, “I need some help.”

Grumbling to herself Nayeon stomped into the contortionists room. She flung the door open only to find that Dahyun was not there. Cursing the day Dubu was born, Nayeon began to leave. However, that plan was thwarted when:

“BOO!”

“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST DAHYUN DON’T DO THAT!”

Dahyun had just jumped out of a small cabinet and had officially scared the daylights out of the magician. Momo, who had been walking past to go help Mina unpack, sniggered at the prank as Nayeon barged past her mumbling something about wishing she could saw Dahyun in half. Dahyun looked at Momo with a cheeky smile and bowed low, Momo applauded half-heartedly before going on her way.

About an hour later Jihyo heard the whistles blow, telling them the train was about to start moving to their first location. They weren’t going to perform for a few months, she wanted to make sure they were well rehearsed, but they couldn’t stay in some of the stops for more than a few days. Chaeyoung sprinted back in, making sure to close and latch the door behind her to stop the force of the train to open it.

Jihyo looked at Nayeon with a bright, beaming smile.

It had begun!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“DADA DADADADADADA CIRCUS, DADADADADADA AFRO!”

“CIRCUS, AFRO, CIRCUS, AFRO, POCADOT, POCADOT, POCADOT, AFRO!”

An annoying Dahyun and Chaeyoung danced around the communal area. Jihyo had invited everyone to sit out there to play cards, it was supposed to be a bonding experience. While Jihyo would never say this out loud these were her greatest acts and therefore getting a relationship with them was paramount. However, as they waited for Sana to return from the bathroom carriage, Momo to find her playing cards and Tzuyu was tucking Somi into bed. Nayeon couldn’t help her cooing over how cute Somi had looked in her pyjamas when she’d come out so say goodnight. She’d always adored children. For Jihyo, she’d seen a lot of girls in Tzuyu’s position. Beautiful girls with bright futures beaten down by abusive ring masters or other members of the circus, because they could easily find another (more compliant) girl. Jihyo had taken it upon herself to look after Tzuyu so that she was aware that Jihyo thought she was indispensable.

Before the duo could launch into another verse of the song they’d recently discovered from Madagascar 3, Jeongyeon pulled them down to sit apart either side of her. After a moment Sana walked in, hair wet from her shower, and waved at them making her way to her room to get dressed. Not one to care about public nudity she left her door wide open, more than aware that when Tzuyu left Somi’s room she’d be in eye line. She waited until she heard the door handle go down before completely disrobing and pretending to be choosing her clothes. She smirked when she heard the door close, one step forward and then nothing. Almost as quickly as she had stopped she heard Tzuyu walk quickly past her room.

“You okay, kid?” Jeongyeon asked, “You’re all red.”

Momo left her room and made to get Sana, only to visibly recoil and slam the younger girls door shut, “QUIT IT WITH THE EXHIBITIONISM YOU HENTAI!”

_“You’re the hentai for staring!”_ Sana’s, now muffled, voice shouted,

Momo shook her head at the younger girls antics and came to join them. Mina sent the quiet assistant an apologetic smile, when Sana set her sights on someone she would become unbearable. Once looking at the taller girl properly Mina also saw the bruising and the cuts that still hadn’t been treated. Before Mina had run away from her parents they had insisted on her becoming a doctor, she knew that if Tzuyu’s wounds weren’t treated they would get infected. She quickly ran into her room and returned with a first aid kit, she knelt in the corner and quietly gestured for Tzuyu to sit in front of her. As the others were all arguing over which naked girl was prettier on Momo’s erotic playing cards, Tzuyu studied the other girl carefully. It was like she was weighing up how much danger accepting help would get her into. She’d learnt long ago that the word of a stranger could not be trusted.

“Please.” Mina called out quietly to her,

Jihyo stood and placed a friendly hand on Tzuyu’s shoulder, reassuring her that it was okay to accept help. The quiet moment was overshadowed by the shouting of the others but Tzuyu approached Mina like she was scared to make a sound. Jihyo followed her, having no interest in the discussion going on at the table. In all honesty she found the cards grotesque. The assistant sat opposite Mina on her knees, still towering over her a little but at least it was easier for Mina to see. Carefully she set to work tending to Tzuyu’s wounds whilst Jihyo knelt beside them. Chaeyoung looked up from the argument and noted how close Mina was to Tzuyu, sure it was for medicinal purposes but that didn’t stop the pang in her chest. She hated the gentle hand Mina had placed on the young girls cheek to keep her head still, she hated the way Mina’s tongue poked out from her lips in concentration as she stared at Tzuyu’s face, she hated that the younger girl was letting her. Usually at times like this Chaeyoung would excuse herself to her animal friends but they would be sleeping now and Kojack was too old to not be allowed his rest.

Little did she know she wasn’t the only one down, Dahyun was also feeling an identical pang of jealousy as Momo held up the eight of diamonds. It was a tall, tan, leggy, blonde, four things that Dahyun wasn’t. She didn’t know why that fact bothered her but it did. Trying not to read to much into her feelings, something she had perfected over time, she covered it with a joke which made both older girls laugh before changing the subject.

“So Mina,” She said out loud drawing the attention of the room to the two people that would least want it, “How’d you learn to fix up bruises?”

Eyes not straying from her work Mina answered, “I did a year of medical school before Sana convinced me to run away to the circus.”

Jeongyeon snorted, “You sure that was wise? You would have been LOOOOAAAADED!”

“It would have been boring,” Mina confessed, not a complete lie, “Besides I’ve never regretted dropping out. The school gave me the option to return if I ever changed my mind so at least I have a back-up plan.”

“Your plan A is a circus? Wow, that’s backwards.” Nayeon sniggered,

“I never was predictable.” Mina countered with a small smile as she placed a bandage on one of Tzuyu’s cuts, while Tzuyu was far from Mina’s type she could tell that under the bruising there was a great beauty and it had saddened her to think someone would damage it, “There, all pretty again.”

“There’s a worse one on her back.” Jihyo told her quietly,

“Can I take a look?” Mina asked,

Taking one look around the room, mostly focusing on the amount of people, Tzuyu fiercely shook her head.

“Okay,” Mina continued, “I can take you to my room.”

Tzuyu’s eyes widened and she looked scared at the offer. While to anyone else it seemed a simple enough request, once Tzuyu had translated the Korean into her native tongue it took a new meaning. Or at least the meaning that had been used in the past. Sensing the girl was uncomfortable Jihyo thought up a solution.

“I’ll grab a towel and we can use it to cover your front, I promise only Mina will see your bare back.”

Mulling it over for a moment Tzuyu nodded carefully, she was able to trust Jihyo….she HAD to be able to trust Jihyo. Chaeyoung continued to sulk quietly, unhappy with Mina seeing another girls bare…ANYTHING. She knew she was being stupid, Tzuyu appeared to be quite vulnerable, but it didn’t stop Chaeyoung’s jealousy. As Jihyo walked off to grab her towel, Sana rocked up winking at Tzuyu before she sat down - ignoring Mina’s unimpressed expression.

“So,” Nayeon said breaking the silence, “From what I saw you know most of the usual tricks, any specialities?”

Tzuyu took a moment to choose her words, “The….err….throw, knife.” Her Korean was broken but Nayeon grinned,

“Yeah I saw that, you barely flinched when the knife hit you let alone when they were just flying by!” Nayeon gushed while Sana studied the girl’s face noting for the first time that she had a long scar on her cheek under the bruising, “It was awesome!”

Tzuyu blushed a little at the praise - not being used to it.

“I also do slight of hand.” Tzuyu added with a small smile,

“Woah! Think you could do it now?” Dahyun asked bouncing in her seat,

“Give me a target.”

“My ring.” Nayeon smirked raising her hand to show a simple silver band on her index finger,

Tzuyu nodded, small smile dropping when Jihyo appeared holding the blanket up like a curtain so that Tzuyu could remove her shirt. Jihyo looked away from the girl as she did so, trust was key here. Sana complained that she couldn’t see “the show” not realising how uncomfortable she was making the younger girl (Jeongyeon kicked her under the table to get her to knock it off). If Sana had known the...delicacy that Tzuyu needed she’d stop her pursuit - she didn’t want to traumatise the poor thing. But, ever oblivious, Sana planned to continue.

Once Tzuyu had changed she wrapped the towel around her front, letting Jihyo hold the back up for Mina to see. At the sight of the marks Mina let out a small gasp, slightest hints of horror in her eyes. Tzuyu’s back was almost black with bruises, one distinctively boot shaped with the imprint of the bottom of the suspected boot also visible. But that wasn’t the cause of the horror, it was the huge gash across the young girl’s back that Mina couldn’t understand. She wasn’t stupid, she knew what it was from - she just needed to confirm it.

“Tzuyu,” She whispered, “You have every right to say no, but do you mind if Chaeyoung looks? I just need her opinion.”

Tzuyu hesitated, scared of revealing herself if she turned to face the older girl, “Just her?”

“Just her.”

A tiny voice let out an “Okay.” and Mina waved Chaeyoung over. Chaeyoung, who had actually been glaring at the slightly younger girl when Mina began whispering in her ear (Jeongyeon had kicked her too) had been rubbing her shin when Mina beckoned. Something in the older girl’s eyes hinting trouble, Chaeyoung went over immediately. Ducking under Jihyo’s arm she caught sight of the horrific gash on Tzuyu’s back and her hand flew to her mouth. She recognised the type of wound.

“Is it what I think it is?” Mina asked miming a distinct motion with her hand,

“Y-Yeah.”

Chaeyoung had been a lion tamer all her life and had seen many others in her time. Some lions had similar horrific injuries like the one on Tzuyu’s back and it had made her sick even then. Chaeyoung abhorred whips, they were cruel and uncalled for no matter who or what you were. For the first time that evening Chaeyoung’s jealousy faded and her heart panged for the younger girl. Mina made quick work of Tzuyu’s back, not wanting to see it any more than she had too and soon the group were all playing cards together.

“Full house!” Nayeon said laying her cards on the table smugly,

“Royal Flush.” Tzuyu countered in her usual even and monotone voice, though Jihyo noticed her lips quirk up a little,

“W-W-What?”

“Woah, you’re unstoppable.” Dahyun breathed out,

“Indeed.” Jihyo smirked, having noticed that Tzuyu always had at least one king in her hand each round, she WAS good at slight of hand,

“Nice one Tzuyu,” Momo laughed clapping the girl on the back making her yelp, “Sorry…”

Tzuyu just nodded to her, knowing it hadn’t been intentional, “I’m going to bed, am tired.”

As she stood, Nayeon stopped her, “Wait! One more! Me and you! All or nothing!”

Jihyo shook her head, Nayeon had declared this three times now, the others had given up hours ago. Tzuyu sighed and sat back down, “Last deal.”

Nayeon eagerly handed over the pack, Tzuyu dealing the cards, and pushed all her money to the middle. Tzuyu calling and doing the same.

“One pair.” Tzuyu said, surprising Jihyo - no kings,

“Four of a kind!” Nayeon cheered - all kings, “Hand over the cash.”

Tzuyu rolled her eyes and helped Nayeon pull the money towards herself, brushing their hands together, “Hey! Don’t get your loser hands on me.”

Jeongyeon facepalmed, she’d forgotten what a bad winner Nayeon was. Tzuyu smiled sadly, “Guess luck runs out. Night Nayeon.”

As the girl walked away Nayeon called after her, “By the way your slight of hand stuff didn’t work either I still have my……..wait?…..Give me my ring back!”

Jihyo laughed at how easily Nayeon had been duped, she was happy to see them all get along. She could only hope it lasted.


	4. Chapter 4

** Chapter 4 **

It had taken two days to reach the first rest stop and Jihyo had been all to excited to set up the big top for the very first time. Everyone helped, except for Chaeyoung who was making sure her babies got the exercise they required, so it was up in no time. They had finished around lunch time and had a quick barbecue before going inside and beginning rehearsals. Jihyo hadn’t seen any of the acts in person yet, for her she was happy to take on anybody that had experience performing with a circus. Besides Nayeon, who she knew was good, Jeongyeon and J-Trinity - Jihyo hadn’t really seen many of the others in action so she was very excited.

Walking into the centre of the Big Top she watched the various groups practising, the area was alive - the atmosphere electric. She walked out to the small area at the back which would serve as a waiting room for the acts, the train was parked behind with the middle doors open - this would allow for the acts to use their own rooms as dressing rooms. Jihyo stepped up into the train and made her way to where her own carriage was located. Somi was sat at the little table playing with Momo’s dirty playing cards. Jihyo reminded herself that she could tell Momo off for it later. With a smile she approached the youngest circus member.

“Hello, Jihyo-unnie.” Somi greeted, standing to bow politely,

“We’re about to start the rehearsals, would you like to watch? You can help me in finding which acts are the best.”

“Tzuyu-unnie’s!”

Jihyo laughed, “Not that you’re biased or anything.”

Nayeon and Tzuyu were sat in the stands talking about their rehearsal, to keep it simple for today they would just perform tricks they both already knew. Nayeon was happy to do knife throwing but had still asked Tzuyu permission which the younger girl appreciated. Now Nayeon would never call herself a humble person, she’d been doing magic since she could talk so she was well aware of how truly talented she was. Whilst Tzuyu was going to be a good assistant, Nayeon would need more time to teach Tzuyu the more intricate tricks she herself had perfected. It was at that moment Jihyo appeared and Somi ran up to Tzuyu, wishing her luck.

“Okay everyone to the stands and we shall begin with Nayeon and Tzuyu!”

Tzuyu disappeared backstage while Nayeon began introducing the act, she had to pretend this was the real thing and show everyone what she had to offer. They began with something simple, when Tzuyu walked out she was dressed in sweatpants and a baggy shirt, Nayeon chastised her on how she looked, covered her with a sheet then waited four seconds before pulling it away. Tzuyu then appeared behind it in a sparkly skin-tight dress, Sana had offered to make it so it wouldn’t be as revealing as the ones she was used to wearing but she still looked beautiful. The bruises were still present even if the were faded. Nayeon heard a gasp at the trick before applause and a wolf whistle (Mina hit Sana upside the head for that one).

Jeongyeon went next, she wasn’t the only clown but she was definitely in charge of that group. The crowd of performers were practically rolling in agony at the slapstick. At one point Jeongyeon cream-pied Nayeon and someone (Sana) made a very rude joke causing the older to chase the clown out of the big top.

When J-Trinity’s turn came around Momo offered to go first. She began climbing up the silks with her usual childlike glee. She loved this feeling, being up high and swinging above the crowds. If she could choose anything else she’d be an acrobat but the silks would always be her favourite. When she was closer to the top of the ribbon than the bottom she wrapped her body in it so that she could hang comfortably as “Havana” began to play. She moved with ease from silk to silk, holding it at one point to swing her legs free and spin around the ribbon with ease. At another point she had her arms free and was upside down, stretching and reaching out long to the music before swinging her body around again. Her final stunt was to make sure the ribbon was wrapped several times around and then fall. The audience gasped as she fell, rolling as the ribbon unravelled.

Stopping her three feet from the floor.

The stands once more erupted in applause and Momo smiled. A lot of people under-estimated her because of her immature and sometimes childish humour. People would often rank Mina and Sana above her but when it came to actual performances Momo could shut up anyone. For many in the stands it was hard to believe that the same girl who wore barbie t-shirts and pouted and clung like a child at times could be so impressive and mature whilst performing.

Then it was Sana’s turn, Momo had performed and was proud of her friend. But now she had her own performance to think about, Tzuyu’s had gone so well and Sana had to also deliver in an attempt to impress the quiet girl. The net was prepared below her, not that she needed it but Sana was clumsy by nature so fail safes weren’t bad options. She was only a meter off the ground but as she would start on the floor that wasn’t a bad thing. She started simply, she walked casually across to her tightrope as the music played behind her. She held on to the rope and cartwheeled, then using it to aid her in a front flip before finally swinging herself on it and standing. Gaining her balance quickly she planned her next move, she lay back on the rope and swung too and fro for a moment as if she were on a hammock before moving forward and doing two forward rolls on the rope. Then with two hands on the tightrope she raised herself into a handstand, winking at the audience (Tzuyu).

Sana was never graceful, she was as clumsy as they came but when she was on the tightrope she could be cocky, she could tease and show off. The applause thundered as she took her bow, quickly making way for Mina. She felt a cold gaze on her, making her hair stand on end like icy. She turned and saw Tzuyu was watching her even as Mina began to perform, looked to Sana as though she’d managed to get the younger girls attention. She didn’t know why she wanted to pursue Tzuyu, she just had to have her. The girl was fragile, Sana knew this, but she didn’t feel as though she would be playing with her. There was something there pulling her in and Sana just needed to discover what it was.

You wouldn’t need some narrating overlord telling you that Mina’s performance was a thing of true elegance. She danced with a purple ball, performing ballet moves at a professional level. It wasn’t like Momo’s which was designed to be sensual and sexy, nor was it like Sana’s which was cocky and confident. It was graceful and beautiful, nearly transfixing to all those watching. She span and danced, all the while knowing exactly where the ball would go. Not missing once. To say it was impressive would be an understatement. This is what made the J-Trinity so legendary, all three girls had amazing talent but when you combined them together it made into one fantastic combination.

For Mina this is all she’d ever wanted to do, she wanted to perform and look beautiful doing it. There were times when she would question the decisions that brought her hear, whether it was for the better or worse in the long run. If she’d been in medical school still, would she have been as content? As happy? No, probably not - she would still have her parents and her wealth but that didn’t make for true happiness. It made for easy, it made for comfort but it would have not made for happiness. As the crown screamed and roared as all three joined for their bow Mina grinned, this is where she wanted to be.

Dahyun’s turn eventually came and while she performed amazingly it wasn’t her best performance. Her act was done behind a sheet, with her turning her body into amazing creatures with a couple other contortionists. Yet she was distracted all she could think about was that playing card Momo had chosen a few days ago. The tall skinny blonde. Dahyun had gotten into contortion through gymnastics, she had done it for a very long time. But her real interest came shortly after joining high school, she was made fun of for everything from her pale skin to her monolids. After that the idea of being able to completely change her body to become something amazing was an amazing thing to her.

Even as she heard people cheering and clapping for her, to Dahyun they were applauding the character she had just created on stage.

As much as she could change her shape she could never make herself skinnier or larger, she couldn’t change her eyes or her face. Tzuyu’s bruises would heal soon and then she’d be beautiful again, Dahyun couldn’t have that same promise. To her all she thought was ugly couldn’t heal. People always told her she wasn’t, but they never called her beautiful. Ever. Things were better now, she didn’t think about it so much but she could still note how hard it had been in the past.

She wouldn’t let herself get that bad again.

Chaeyoung went last, letting her babies out of the enclosure and herding them through into the big top. All three jumped onto the podiums when she clapped. They were obedient which to most could only be brought with a whip but Chaeyoung had raised each one and had risen as head of the pride. They weren’t domesticated but they’d do what Chaeyoung asked, if she heard the warning growl that they weren’t happy she would end her act and take them out for big chunks of meat. There were measures in place in case one went crazy and attacked her but hopefully that would never happen. They never learned to hunt, they only knew that Chaeyoung provided food. No Chaeyoung, no dinner.

When Chaeyoung finished she returned her babies to their large enclosure and walked back to see what Jihyo thought. She saw Mina standing with Tzuyu, rubbing some cream into her back to aid with the scars healing. This sparked some jealousy within the baby beast but she had, had an idea last night which would be good to enact now. She walked over and began by congratulating them both on their rehearsals.

“Anyway,” Chaeyoung continued, looking to Tzuyu, “I was wondering if you wanted help learning Korean, I’ll be happy to tutor you?”

“Tutor?”

“Teach, I will teach you Korean.”

“That’s very nice of you Chaeyoung.” Mina told her with a sweet smile,

“Well if it’ll help her to be comfortable, why not?” Chaeyoung then looked at Tzuyu,

The girl bowed, “I…thank you, I appreciate help.”

“Your welcome!”

And Tzuyu did appreciate it, it’s very hard to trust people when you don’t know what they’re saying. It was embarrassing having to ask Somi to translate for her. She had to learn to be self reliant, she couldn’t rely on someone else for her survival any more. Tzuyu had been doing that for a long time and all it did was leave violated, broken and bruised. Her Uncle had always told her that she’d be nowhere without him, in fact Tzuyu wasn’t going to leave the Chinese Circus at all. But when her Uncle tried to take that….that horrible thing to Somi, Tzuyu had fought him and ran. She packed what she could and ran, praying that Jihyo would be better and so far she was. Later that night she was tucking Somi into bed, the girl was the little sister Tzuyu had never had the chance of having.

“晚安宝贝儿.”

( _Goodnight, sweetheart)_

“晚安,子瑜.” Somi replied sleepily,

_(Goodnight, Tzuyu)_

Tzuyu left the room quietly and closed the door gently behind her. She turned to see a light on by the table, Sana was still up writing something. Tzuyu didn’t really know what to make of Sana, she took the world too lightly and in all honesty it made Tzuyu jealous. Jealous of how easy Sana had it, no abuse, no scars to make her body look ugly. Tzuyu wouldn’t wish that on anyone but she definitely wished herself out of that situation a few times. Maybe one day Tzuyu would reach out, but not yet.

Who knows what the future would hold?


	5. Chapter 5

** Chapter 5 **

Jihyo leant on the doorway to the carriage watching her favourite acts lounge around. It was late and they were sat in the communal space, the side door slid open exposing the stars. Jihyo liked being this far from the city, there was no light pollution here - they were too far out. There were no city lights, no street lamps, the only light within miles of that area were the lights spilling out from inside the train. They’d been rehearsing non-stop the past few weeks and it made their ringmaster proud to see everything coming together. She was happy that her main acts were getting along too, Nayeon had spent time teaching Tzuyu the tricks she needed to know, Momo and Dahyun seemed to be getting quite close as well, Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung had developed a strong bond through their mutual love of pranking Nayeon and Mina had been keeping Sana from flirting with…anything that moved.

They were becoming a good team.

At that moment in time most of the girls were hiding from Somi, they were playing hide and seek which was quite difficult in the small space but it passed the time. Tzuyu and Mina were sat off at the side, leaning on opposite sides of the carriage side door. They couldn’t leave it open while the train was moving so now that they could have it open and get in some air so they were taking advantage. Tzuyu had three cups face down in front of her, Mina guessing where the small red ball was hiding. Inevitably it was still in Tzuyu’s hand but it eased the boredom a little. Somi laughed as she pulled Nayeon out of where she had been hiding under her bed, the older girl huffing as she slumped into the seat at the table.

“Why does she always find me first?”

“Because you’re awful at hiding?”

“Not the point.” Nayeon snapped glaring at Jihyo,

Nayeon looked around the room and squealed when two eyes looked up at her from under the table, Jeongyeon held her finger to her lips and hid herself again. Nayeon felt herself blush, the other woman’s hands were on her knees and it was making her feel flushed. She hadn’t really done much towards her plan of wooing Yoo Jeongyeon, she’d been so focused on teaching Tzuyu all the amazing tricks she had perfected - her relationship just didn’t have room to grow. Though that’s not to say that nothing had happened, Jeongyeon had spent the night in her room more than once and the small bed meant that Jeongyeon had to be on top of her….you can use your imagination for the rest of that scenario. So the more intimate side of their “friendship” was happening but Nayeon still craved more and Jeongyeon’s hands on her knees DID NOT HELP!

Nayeon began wondering if Jeongyeon knew what she did to her, whether that stupid clown know that every time she smiled Nayeon’s way the older girl’s knees would grow weak. Nayeon had never really had any friends, excluding Jeongyeon and Jihyo, growing up she had been with her parents twenty four hours a day. Learning their tricks to perform them for herself one day, she didn’t go and play with the other children. Why would she? She’d much rather learn how to pull a bunny out of her hat and other impossible things. Plus Nayeon was good at it, a prodigy even - that’s what her parents always said. From the age of seven she was sawing her dolls in half in front of an audience of her favourite stuffed bears.

She was talented. No one could deny that.

Which reminded her actually, she had another trick she wanted to try - a brand new one! She’d fill a tank with water and when Tzuyu jumped in she’d be a normal girl, Nayeon would say the magic words, the water would bubble and Tzuyu would transform into a mermaid (completed by a few laps around the tank). She couldn’t wait to tell this idea to her assistant, Tzuyu was talented. She took orders well once she understood them, Somi usually standing by to translate for her. Nayeon liked the fact that she could never rattle the girl, Tzuyu was able to do any trick very quickly and with someone like Nayeon who perfected things almost as quickly as she came up with them.

Somi sprinted back gleefully, a very irritated Momo with her. Momo pouted and slumped on her seat and heard Jeongyeon snickering under the table. She looked at Nayeon who just rolled her eyes, with one good kick the clown rolled out from under the table. She was clutching her leg and making a fuss, Nayeon grinning down at her and mouthing ‘oops’ as Somi cheered over finding her third person. Jeongyeon glared at Nayeon and sat down next to Momo, Nayeon chuckled - she’d be pouting now but would punish her later. Winky face. The next face to appear was Sana who had been hiding (ironically) in her own closet. Momo was still pouting and Sana approached her quietly, offering her some comfort since Momo didn’t like losing.

Momo had the tendency to be very childish at times. She couldn’t help it, she could go from joking back and fourth with Sana in Japanese sexual innuendos to suddenly clinging to Mina and wanting to watch cartoons. It mostly happened when she was over excited, like when playing a game, or when she was stressed. Somi liked Momo a lot when she was like that, she had nobody her own age here so when Momo was happy to play with her it made her excited. Dahyun was surprisingly similar, except she just had a slightly immature sense of humour. This was probably why the duo had been drawn to each other lately, when Momo was acting childish Dahyun just knew how to get through to her. Sana and Mina had both said to Jihyo separately that they thought Momo and Dahyun would become a thing.

Though Jihyo could never work out why Mina had looked so worried about the possibility of Momo and Dahyun getting together. At first she thought the youngest of J-Trinity had a crush on her but Mina was so obviously besotted with Chaeyoung that theory was blown straight out of the water. Now as she watched Somi ask Momo if she knew where Dahyun was, Jihyo wanted to coo over the little smile on Momo’s face as she thought of the contortionist.The ringmaster hoped something would happen between them, they were both innocently flirting at the moment and Jihyo couldn’t help but find it adorable. She thought they’d be good for each other, she’d noticed Dahyun pushed herself harder than anyone else and critiqued herself harder.

Momo’s optimism could be good for her.

“Chaeyoung-unnie!” Somi called as the short woman walked into the carriage, “We’re playing hide and seek!”

“Wow,” Chaeyoung replied with a smile, “You need help finding Dubu-unnie.”

“Yeah.” Somi pouted, “I’ve looked all over.”

Chaeyoung smiled and tapped her nose before walking up to a small crate, about the same size as seven year old Somi. She opened it with a flourish and cubed shaped Dahyun tumbled out.

“FOUND YOU!” Somi called with a huge grin,

“You gave me away!” Dahyun whined,

Mina smiled, Chaeyoung looked so cute playing with Somi. Mina was always transfixed by how Chaeyoung was with Somi, she treated her with the same affection Mina saw when she was tending her lions. So gentle, so sweet, so beautiful. She wondered if Chaeyoung would be like that with their children one day….not that she fantasised about herself and Chaeyoung getting married, having children and buying a small cottage in Seoul…no that would be obsessive and creepy. At this thought process Mina blushed and looked away from the scene. She met Tzuyu’s eyes and the younger girl sent her a knowing look which worsened her blush.

“What?” Mina asked,

“Nothing.” Tzuyu replied teasingly, mixing up the cups up again, “You like short girl, I not judge.”

Mina over dramatically scoffed, so out of character that Tzuyu’s lips curled upwards, “I do not!”

“Mmhm.” Tzuyu teased, “She like you to, not that you care.”

Chaeyoung happened to look up as Mina reached the brightest shade of red, she took note of the teasing twinkle in Tzuyu’s eye and felt jealousy course through her. They’d started that dumb cup game before she left to check on her babies, how could cups be so interesting? Wow it disappears from one and goes into another big whoop. Chaeyoung didn’t realise she was glaring until Jeongyeon smacked her upside the head. Chaeyoung rubbed the back of her head and swore at her tall friend…immediately being scolded by Jihyo for cursing in front of Somi. Like Jeongyeon could judge her on how she reacts to her crush? The older girl was so emotionally dented she couldn’t even see that she and Nayeon were both unbelievably in love with each other.

And everyone knew they were sneaking into each others rooms at night.

“Now that everyone’s here!” Nayeon chirped excitedly, “Let me tell you about a new trick I want to do!”

“Tzuyu! Tzuyu!” Somi shouted excitedly, running over to where Tzuyu was sat, “新招數! 新招數!”

Tzuyu’s gaze softened at her young companion and she allowed the girl to pull her up, “New trick?”

Nayeon grinned at her, “We’re going to make you into a mermaid.”

Tzuyu’s head cocked at the unfamiliar word and she looked to Somi for help, “美人魚.”

Realisation clouded her features and her face dropped.

“We’ll get a tank, a big one and fill it with water!” Nayeon babbled,

“I think we have an old escapologist one in storage.” Jihyo commented, “Will need some care though.”

“So what’s the trick?” Sana asked, praying for the next words to be ‘bikini’,

“Well Tzuyu goes in wearing a beautiful gown and the water will turn her into a mermaid!”

“Nayeon that sounds amazing!” Jihyo exclaimed,

“If she can pull it off.” Jeongyeon teased, earning a smack,

“不用水.”

All eyes went to Tzuyu in confusion. It wasn’t the words, they were used to her still saying the odd sentence in Chinese. What confused them was the tone. Usually when Tzuyu spoke she was somewhat monotone, no emotions really came into her voice unless she was teasing Somi. They had never heard fear in it before, it had never been that obvious. Even Somi looked at her perplexed for a moment before appearing to remember something.

“W-What was that Tzuyu?” Sana asked carefully,

“不用水.”

“No water.” Somi translated after a second, “She’s saying no water.”

Nayeon frowned, “Why?”

“Water is bad,” Tzuyu spoke, trying to use the little Korean she knew to explain, “Story say it’s bad.”

“Story?” Jihyo asked,

Nayeon wasn’t having it, “But Tzuyu it’d be amazing! I can teach you how to swim!”

Tzuyu’s expression turned angry, “I said no water!”

Not giving Nayeon a chance to argue Tzuyu stormed to bed leaving the other girls all confused as they stared after her. It was Jihyo who asked, “Somi, what did she mean by ‘story’?”

Somi looked down shyly, “It’s a story they used to tell at the old circus. Chou Yan used to tell us it when we were little.”

“What is the story?”

Somi smiled, “The Escapologist’s Wife.”


	6. Chapter 6

** Chapter 6 **

The girls gathered round Somi, eager to hear the story that had caused Tzuyu’s irrational fear of water. Jihyo had tried to ask the younger girl about her old circus once, but Tzuyu had told her quite bluntly that it was not something she wished to discuss. The ringmaster had left it after that as she didn’t want to add to the girls distress by making her relive what had happened. However, in this moment curiosity had gotten the better of her and she found herself wondering what secrets this story could unfold.

The older women were all gathered around the table, Somi stood before them. They had to admit the youngest in the troupe was quite the story teller - having made little productions for them before with her little stories. Usually most would only watch halfheartedly but this time they thought it was important, they would need to listen to every word to find where Tzuyu’s fear lay.

“Our story begins in Hong Kong, twenty years ago…” Somi began,

_The Hong Kong circus was world renowned back then. It was home to two of greatest circus performers in the world, an escapologist, who could escape from any trick you set before him, and an acrobat, who was so skilled, it seemed as if she was actually flying over the audience. The acrobat had lived at the circus with her family her entire life, perfecting her skills that made her one of the greats. It was often rumored that her brother, another member of the circus, was jealous of her talents. There was a rumour that he had tampered with her rope a number of times. When the escapologist came to join them the couple fell in love at first sight and got married. They bonded over the love of their arts and their shared home town of Tainan._

_They performed some of the most incredible tricks anybody had ever seen, they came from everywhere: kings, queens, celebrities, everyone came to see them perform. The circus had never been so popular, but it was not just to see their skill, the love that they had for each other was so blatant that it made all that saw them together happy and warm._

“They sound so cute!” Nayeon smiled,

She wondered if she and Jeongyeon would ever be like that? Both were talented enough in their fields that this story could be about them, perhaps one day people would come from miles around to see them. See the love they had for one another.

“It sounds nauseating.” Jeongyeon laughed,

“Hush,” Jihyo snapped, seeing Nayeon was about to hit Jeongyeon across the head, “Continue, Somi.”

_Whenever they were in Hong Kong, the main venue, they would live in this beautiful small cottage. They’d both take walks in the evening and the children of the town would wait in anticipation. They’d sit out for hours waiting for the sight of the golden locket with the emerald stone. For once the couple appeared, the children knew they had only to cry, "Tricks! Tricks!" and the great performers would use simple objects around them and create the greatest show on Earth!_

_But, although they loved each other, although they were famous and everyone loved them, they were sad._

“Why?” Momo asked, innocent eyes shining as she listened, she didn’t want them to be sad,

“Just listen Moguri and Somi will tell you.” Dahyun said gently rubbing her back,

Either not seeing or just ignoring the look of pure “uwu” Sana and Mina shared. Momo nodded with a focused look and returned her gaze to Somi, resting her head on her hands and listening once more - with unwavering attention.

_"We have everything that we would ever wish to have." said the escapologist one day to a close friend of his, "But we do not have the one thing in the world we want most."_

_“What’s that then?”_

_"We’ve been trying for a child but it looks like God does not wish to gift us with one."_

_“Patience, my friend.” The friend replied with a smile, "Don’t you know who you are? Time is on your side, even time loves you."_

_However, as time passed, it grew more and more apparent that time favors no one. The couple grew quite old, and still, God had not blessed them with a child of their own. At night, they listened to the silence of their empty house, and they would imagine how beautiful it would be if it was filled with the sounds of a child at play. Running and leaving her toys around only for her parents to scold her once one or both had tripped over them._

“Wow, bummer.” Chaeyoung breathed,

“This is a really sad story.” Mina commented,

“Do you want me to stop?” Somi asked genuinely,

“Don’t you dare.” Jihyo smiled kindly,

The others all nodded, transfixed by Somi’s adult way of story telling. Somi smiled and continued her tale.

_Their sadness was overwhelming and they grew more and more reckless with their tricks! Their work was their escape, a way to detach themselves from their devastating reality. And then the acrobats brother approached them with a new trick, the most terrifying and deadly trick ever performed._

_"It is called," said the acrobats brother, “The Drowning Bride.”_

_The couple signed their contract for the trick then and there._

Sick dread filled Jihyo’s veins. She was beginning to see where this was going. But this was merely a story, why would it scare Tzuyu so? Somi didn’t want to go on, this was not the sort of story that held a happy ending one could hold out for. It would only get harder and harder for her unnies to listen to. Somi continued though, sensing she still had her audiences rapt attention. She could only hope that the story didn’t upset them to much.

_The day finally arrived!_

_It was as though the whole world had come to watch: kings, queens, celebrities, everyone! Everything was arranged by...the Acrobat's brother. He was a cruel man who enjoyed drinking and fighting, often scaring the children of the town. People whispered, that in his dark and brooding heart, he held a lot of resentment towards his sister. She was world famous whilst he himself was not._

_Anyway, the crowd was ready. The drums rolling. Everyone waiting eagerly for the trick to begin._

_Suddenly, the Escapologist walked out with a beaming smile on his face. Though there was no sign of the acrobat to be seen. He raised his hand as he walked into the ring, silently commanding for a deafening silence that spread through the room like a large blanket._

_"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! The Drowning woman has been...cancelled!"_

“WHAT!?”

“No way!”

“Why??”

Somi grinned when she realized how into this story they were.

_"Cancelled, because my wife is eight months pregnant!"_

“Yay!” Momo cheered jumping up a little,

_In much the same way the audience cheered and applauded for what seemed to be hours as the acrobat ran out to embrace her husband. They smiled to one another and he kissed her, neither able to hide their joy. The trick was forgotten by everyone._

“So there’s a happy ending?” Sana asked as the others cheered around her, “Then why is Chewy so scared?”

Somi’s grin fell into a sad smile.

_Forgotten by everyone, except the acrobats brother. As the audiences applause began to die down he took several big steps towards them and produced a contract._

_“Brother? What is this?”_

_"A contract you have signed to perform the trick, you cannot just break its terms!"_

The girls were all silent as they listened.

_The escapologist tried to reason, “My friend, your sister is pregnant she cannot possibly perform!”_

_The brother held up the contract once more, “I have paid for posters, publicity, catering, all of it out of my own pocket. Where is my profit if I return the money to those who have paid to see this? My hands are tied! You must perform or I shall call the authorities."_

“HE CAN’T DO THAT!” Chaeyoung shouted,

“It can’t work that way!” Mina whispered,

_“You can’t do that!” The escapologist cried,_

_“I have it in writing, assault me sir and I shall definitely have you arrested.”_

_Slowly, very slowly, the acrobat removed her locket and placed it into her husband’s hand._

_"For luck, my love," she said, kissing him, "Smile, we have done this a thousand times."_

_Then suddenly, she hugged him with the biggest hug in the world, so hard, that he felt she was going to hug all the air out of him. As though it were to be a hug goodbye. He dropped to his knees and kissed his unborn baby, wishing for them to know they were loved. And so they prepared themselves for the most dangerous feat ever been performed by an average circus. The great escapologist had to escape from a straight jacket and the cage which he was held in, jump out and rescue his wife who would be locked in a glass tank filling with water. It would fill in twelve seconds/_

_The trick started well, the acrobat swung into the air gracefully and dived into the tank. The crowd held their breath as she was locked in. Water began filling the tank and the escapologist began working on the straight jacket._

_One second….two seconds…_

_They watched as the water began rising quickly, already up to her knees._

_Three seconds…four seconds…_

_He freed himself quickly beginning to work on the first lock._

_Five seconds…six seconds…_

_The padlock pinged open and he began on the second, the water up to his wife’s neck._

_Seven seconds…eight seconds…_

_The door flung open._

_Nine seconds…ten seconds…_

_He ran to the glass box, the water now over his wifes head._

_Eleven seconds…_

_He got to the lock._

_Twelve seconds…_

_He began to open it, discarding the lock quickly in order to rescue his wife._

The girls were celebrating, they were very involved in this story and were so wrapped up in their excitement they’d forgotten why Somi was telling them this.

“So it does have a happy ending?” Dahyun asked,

“I’m so glad.” Jihyo sighed,

“It got a bit dark there…”

“But it’s all okay.” Momo grinned,

“No.”

All eyes went to Somi again.

_The door was jammed. No matter how hard he pulled it wouldn’t budge._

“Was she okay? Did she survive?” Nayeon asked,

_When they finally got the door open she had drowned, it had taken five men to break the glass. Then it was a race against time to save the child, which they did._

_And then, things got worse._

“How could they get any worse?” Mina asked leaning into the comfort of Chaeyoung,

“I don’t like this story.” Momo whispered, curling into herself,

“It’s okay Mo,” Dahyun hugged her gently, “It’s only a story.”

_The escapologist never blamed the brother, he was far to kind. He believed family to be the most important thing, so he accepted the condolences of the acrobats brother and allowed him to aid in raising his daughter. Each day when the escapologist left for rehearsal the uncle would beat the daughter black and blue. He would yell and scream and threaten to do awful things to her. At night, the escapologist's daughter cried herself to sleep, alone in her room. She never said a word to her father, as she didn't want to add to her Father's pain - always blaming herself for the death of her mother.._

_One day, she fought back. Hitting her uncle right in the face, then he exploded._

_And he beat her until she was almost unrecognizable before locking her in the trailer, handcuffed to the radiator. But that day the escapologist happened to come home earl on a whim, and when he heard the sound of his daughter's tears, he smashed the door open._

_He craddled her and cried with her,”Don't cry, wipe away your tears little girl.”_

_He felt guilty for allowing that man the opportunity to do such awful things to his only child._

_“Forgive me, I didn't mean to desert you. I’m here now, you will never be hurt again. I love you so much, my daughter. I shall spend the rest of my life making it up to you. We shall be together, forever.”_

_He let his tears fall, wrapping her up in the biggest hug in the world. She clung back to him, ignoring how much pain she felt, “Don’t cry daddy, forgive me. I didn’t want to make you sad, I’m safe now. You’re here.”_

_Eventually the little girl fell asleep, the escapologist tucked her into her bed. Soft, safe and warm. Then, and only then, did his thoughts turned to the acrobat's brother. Rage filled him, it was inconsolible. This demon had sullied the memory of his wife and betrayed the trust of his only sister. He thought it was funny to bully his daughter did he? Well lets see what this creature thinks he can do when the wrath of a grown man stands before him. He then left, planning to confront the brother._

“And?” Jihyo asked,

Tzuyu’s voice startled them, she had heard what they were discussing,”That was the last the little girl ever saw of her Father. Because he never came home. Ever again. After that all water tricks were banned from the circus.”

“Tzuyu-unnieh…”

“It is okay, Somi,” Tzuyu’s small smile was visibly faked, “It is only story. Time for bed.”

Somi nodded and said goodnight to them all before heading to her cabin. The others all began turning in too, Momo asking to stay with Dahyun - the story had upset her and she wanted to be cuddled. Jihyo squeezed Tzuyu’s shoulder gently as she passed, she didn’t know why that story had affected the girl so much. It was probably due to being told it all her life, those things leave a lasting impression, but something wasn’t right. Sana also thought this and so she waited until all other doors were closed before she approached the younger girl.

“It’s only a story right?”

Tzuyu looked at her, stone faced, “Of course, silly myth.”

Sana didn’t believe her but she could do nothing except go to bed, planning some more investigation tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

** Chapter 7 **

Nayeon had been up all night.

Jeongyeon had snuck in shortly after the others had gone to bed that night and they had fooled around for a while before Jeongyeon had fallen asleep. Nayeon could usually sleep quite well in the younger girl’s arms but that night she just couldn’t. Instead, she was turning over her new trick in her head - pissed that Tzuyu had refused to do it based on some stupid story. Whenever the magician thought of a knew trick she would fixate on it until its completion, she had to convince Tzuyu to do it so that Nayeon could cross it off. Besides - Tzuyu should trust her, Nayeon had been doing this since she was a child if anyone could be trusted to perform this type of trick it was Im Nayeon.

She would have to try and convince Tzuyu to come round to her way of thinking, a grown woman had to learn to swim. It wasn’t right for her to just not know. As she turned over ideas for talking Tzuyu into learning the trick, the sun rose and began shining through the train window in her room. It was shielded by the curtains but was still enough to stir Jeongyeon who awoke with a snort. She sent Nayeon a small smile and the elder of the two had to stop herself from kissing her. They never did those sorts of things when it wasn’t about sex. Instead Nayeon just cuddled into her, lying that she was comfortable - how could she be comfortable with her heart pounding painfully in her chest?

“Morning.” Jeongyeon greeted, holding Nayeon close,

“Morning…” Nayeon sighed out in reply,

“What time is it?” Jeongyeon asked, looking at the clock, “I should leave before the others wake up.”

She began to untangle herself, but Nayeon clutched harder.

“Just stay!” Nayeon whined, “Nobody will care!”

Jeongyeon just chuckled and got out of bed, naked as the day she was born, Nayeon openly ogling her body head to toe as she got dressed.

“Nayeon, we agreed this was casual.”

“I know, I know…”

Jeongyeon sighed and studied her, she pulled on her shirt and leant over to Nayeon pecking her forehead, “C’mon Nay, we’re having fun! You would hate settling down and you know it.”

“You’re right.”

_Complete lie._

With Jeongyeon gone Nayeon groaned and fell back on her bed, she was beginning to lose her mind. Between fixating on her trick she wasn’t able to perform and being obsessed with a girl that she simultaneously had and didn’t have, her brain had actually started to melt in her skull. It wasn’t fair! Usually everything came up Nayeon but lately nothing had been going her way. If she didn’t come out of today with some sort of win she could very well jump off the train and end it all. A bit dramatic but this is Im Nayeon we’re talking about. She lay in bed for a further ten minutes before deciding to actually get up and be some form of functional human being. When she eventually got dressed and left her cabin to head to the bathroom, she saw Tzuyu and Somi were already up. Tzuyu appeared to be teaching her from a Chinese book and it was sweet to watch.

But it also gave Nayeon an idea.

As she walked to the bathroom she turned this idea over in her head trying to find the best angle to attack it from. If there was one way to make Tzuyu do anything, it was to bring Somi into it. The younger girl adored her adoptive little sister and was a push over to whatever the little girl requested. If Nayeon was going to convince Tzuyu to do this trick, Somi was was the way to do it. All Nayeon had to do was work out how to do it. As she left the cabin, Momo left her room immediately being called over to join Somi. Momo and Somi had become fast friends, Somi liked that the older girl would always play games with her whilst Momo was happy to finally be able to act “childish” without judgement.

They immediately began to play together, Tzuyu thankful for the break, watching as they played together. Momo was hiding from the younger girl, she and Sana had taught Somi to count to ten in Japanese so that they would get extra time in hide as the younger girl ummed and awwed over what came next. However, in return Momo would have to count in Chinese…she’d get to five and then make up the rest. The duo were very cute when they interacted, Momo was naturally good with children and she rejected the ‘Unnie’ title like it was cursed. She liked being young and free, she could grow up if she needed to but she preferred being like this. Sana and Mina understood why Momo was like this, however the others were not to be told. It was for Momo to tell.

The main time Momo would go from Moguri (Sana and Mina’s name for her bubbly and childish side) to Momo, (the sexy dance machine) was when a girl was around. Momo and Sana were infamous for the notches in their bedposts, if Momo wanted a girl she could get one. Therefore, you can imagine her surprise when the one girl she knew she wanted didn’t cause this reaction. Whenever Dahyun walked into the room Moguri appeared demanding cuddles, it was weird because then Dahyun would go to practice or something and the switch back would happen and the older girl had no clue why. She had asked Sana and Mina nd they had been of little help, Sana had just giggled and rolled her eyes whilst Mina reminded her that nerves were one of her triggers. Why would Dahyun make her nervous enough to switch?

Could it be due to her wanting to protect the younger members of the troupe?

Momo may be childish, with Mina having to take the parental role, but sometimes Mina needed to be treated as the youngest. Out of the three of them Mina would get nostalgic and upset (all due to her broody personality) and sometimes this would lead to homesickness. Sana didn’t understand the concept since she was a wild child, never really remembering where she had been. But Momo understood how it felt to miss your parents so when she needed to step up she could. However, when it came to Dahyun she just couldn’t do it - clinging to her side the way Somi would cling to Tzuyu’s. Maybe she was just being protective? But surely then she’d be grown up, not immature.

Momo didn’t have much time to dwell on that thought as Somi found her, but when she would try to think over this problem in more detail she would come up with a possible solution. She decided to go a few cabins down and see if she could seduce one of the younger girls down there as to test whether or not this phenomena WAS just Dahyun. So the moment Tzuyu ended their game and summoned Somi over for something, Momo excused herself to where some of the other acrobats were. To her surprise she managed to charm them easily and in the evening she was sneaking out of one of there rooms back to her own cabin. She didn’t know why but for the first time ever she regretted having sex, she didn’t know if it was because the reasons behind it were experimental but, due to an emotion she couldn’t understand, she did not want Dahyun to find out about it.

She walked into the cabin and headed straight for Sana’s room, she wanted to talk to her woman to woman. Tzuyu was exiting her own room as Momo disappeared, she paused for a moment to study the determined dancer but instead decided to head to the bathroom carriage to shower. As she walked towards the main door however a wild Nayeon appeared. Tzuyu looked at her in question, not trusting the extremely wide smile on her face. Last she had heard Nayeon was mad at her for not wanting to do the trick, so why the elder was now grinning at her like the cat that got the cream - she didn’t trust it.

“Hey Tzuyu!”

“Hello…”

“Look I found someone to do the trick so you don’t have to worry, we’re all good.”

“Oh,” Tzuyu relaxed slightly, “That’s good.”

She made to walk past but Nayeon caught her attention again.

“Somi’s a good kid.”

Tzuyu turned on her heel, “What?”

“Somi-yah,” Nayeon confirmed, “She agreed to do the trick for you, isn’t she the sweetest.”

Tzuyu glared at Nayeon, “Somi is child.”

“I’m sorry,” Nayeon pouted, “I need someone for this trick, you’re too scared and that’s fine. Somi offered to go in your place.”

Nayeon grinned at what Tzuyu said next, how she ranted at her in poorly worded Korean, the end result was what she had expected. Truth was that Tzuyu could be painfully predictable at times, which was how Nayeon was able to talk her into “rescuing Somi” by taking her place and becoming a mermaid.


	8. Christmas Special

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Day 10 of 12 Days of Ficmas, check my twitter (@Elcten) to see any other days you may have missed :)
> 
> Just a small Christmas special!
> 
> Not happy with it but I never am with this story for some reason.

Chapter 8

“TZUYU! TZUYU! TZUYU!”

Said girl awoke with a start at the tiny body jumping up and down on her. Despite being somewhat irritated at the abrupt wake up call, she was always happy to see Somi happy and so sat up and pulled her down to tickle her sides. The little girl giggled and told her to stop, but Tzuyu knew better and kept tickling for a moment or two longer to make sure the girl was truly accepting of her defeat. Somi giggled away even after Tzuyu stopped teasing her, she liked when Tzuyu was feeling playful. It was rare and usually only Somi got to see that side of her.

“What were you saying?” Tzuyu asked in her native language,

“It’s snowing!”

“Snow? Real snow?”

Somi nodded excitedly and Tzuyu leapt to her feet, grabbing her dressing gown as she tore out of the room with her little sister on her heels. Everyone else was sat around enjoying their evening, Tzuyu had gone to bed early feeling a little motion sick from the long train ride. The duo skidded to a stop by the window and sure enough, in the setting sun of the evening they could see the flecks of white landing on the white ground. Tzuyu was from Taiwan which was a pretty hot country, this was her first time seeing snow that wasn’t located on a mountain top.

“Wow…” She breathed,

“It’s so pretty!”

“What is it?” A voice asked from behind them,

Tzuyu turned to see Sana, “Snow.”

Sana looked past them, out to the landscape that passed them quickly by. She couldn’t see a reason why it would have excited the usually stoic girl enough for her to sprint to the window, but Tzuyu looked so adorable as she stared out over it Sana found she didn’t care for a reason. If it made Tzuyu happy then she’d just entertain her to keep those eyes shining with childlike-joy.

“You never seen snow before?”

Tzuyu looked out over the frozen plain, “Taiwan is a hot place. There is snow on the mountains but not anywhere else.”

Sana nodded, she had worked a lot in Korea and had seen the snow fall every year. It was probably why she was so desensitised to it. To be honest she couldn’t remember when she’d first seen snow, she may very well have reacted the same way and forgotten. Looking out on it as it gently covered the outside world as they themselves remained warm and cozy on the train. Ultimately she decided not to spoil Tzuyu’s fun.

_SLAM!_

Everyone shat themselves when the door to the carriage slammed open. Jihyo immediately began scolding them, Mina tried to calm her heart rate, Momo had a hand over her mouth to silence her scream and Sana placed a gentle hand on Tzuyu’s back to make sure she knew it wasn’t anything more sinister.

Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung appeared, dragging in a small, withered, Christmas tree.

“Where did you two even get that?” Nayeon asked, looking over the dead tree,

“The lions used it as a scratching post,” Chaeyoung shrugged, “We can borrow it for a few nights.”

“Someone help me decorate it?” Jeongyeon asked,

Nayeon rolled her eyes, “Fine.”

Chaeyoung took Nayeon’s seat as she stood up, taking one of the snacks off the table. Mina looked at her, as though studying her face.

“Whrut?” Chaeyoung asked, mouthful,

“How are you not afraid of the lions?”

Chaeyoung shrugged and swallowed, “Why would I be? They’re just big cats.”

Mina blinked, “With sharp teeth and razor claws.”

“I raised them,” Chaeyoung said, “I’m not stupid I know they’d eat me if they had to, but they know I’m head of their pack so I’ll always be safe.”

The way Chaeyoung lit up when talking about animals was impressive to Mina. She would be the first to admit she had lived a life of privilege when she was young, she got whatever she wanted and her parents didn’t care if she no longer cared for her latest toy. Horse riding, archery, guitar - all things her parents had paid for and she had dropped. Normal children would usually be forced to continue, their parents had paid for it and wanted their money’s worth. But Mina had never had that same drive.

Meeting Chaeyoung had reaffirmed to her that she didn’t get the same passion. She had never had any real continued interest in anything, which when you really thought about it was rather sad. The way Chaeyoung’s eyes lit up as she spoke about her babies, Mina envied that brightness and enthusiasm that she herself could never get. Her parents had dragged her to ballet for years which was as close as she got, but the reminded that they had done that for their own benefit soured any positive dance memory she had from then.

“Could I meet your lions one day?” Mina asked,

“Of course!” Chaeyoung beamed,

Mina smiled back, maybe meeting Chaeyoung’s passion would ignite some within herself. That burning desire to do something, she knew it was inside her somewhere she just needed the right activity to set it alight. As terrified as she was at being in close contact with the so called King of the Jungle, Mina knew Chaeyoung was leader of the pride and wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She trusted Chaeyoung.

“No! Jeongyeon!” Nayeon snapped, “You need to space the baubles evenly.”

“Alright, stop snapping.” Jeongyeon rolled her eyes,

Nayeon huffed, elbowing the annoying girl away and moving the bauble over slightly so that it looked better. Jeongyeon knew something was bothering her but also knew Nayeon well enough to know she would soon tell her why she was upset. The baubles, if you could call them that, had been made from whatever they could find - old tennis balls, oranges, other spherical objects. Being on a train that never stopped for more than a couple days at a time meant that they couldn’t have gone to get any form of festive decoration. So they made due with what they had.

“Why did you go with Chaeng?”

“Huh?” Jeongyeon asked,

“Why would you willingly go into the lion carriage?”

Jeongyeon looked at her, Nayeon’s face appeared impassive but the younger girl had known her long enough to see the worry in her eyes. Jeongyeon gave her an easy smile, she knew that despite her somewhat erratic behaviour Nayeon was the type to worry excessively. She always had! Jihyo worried about everyone else and so Nayeon made it a point to worry about Jihyo. It was something Jeongyeon always admired, Nayeon’s ability to see when the ringmaster needed a break and take the burden for a little while. She did it so effortlessly that Jeongyeon was in awe.

“I was with Chae,” Jeongyeon told her, “I was perfectly safe. Besides not like I have anything to lose.”

“Stop saying that.”

“Okay.”

“I mean it,” Nayeon’s eyes were angry now, “Stop saying things like that.”

Jeongyeon faked a look of sincerity, “Okay!”

Nayeon looked her up and down but said nothing more. Instead she placed the makeshift angel (a tennis ball and paper cone) on the top of the tree and stepped back.

“Tadaa!”

Silence as everyone looked it over.

Then the cackling started, everyone stared at the makeshift Christmas tree in hysterics. Jihyo just smiled over the group, sure it wasn’t anything special but it was all they had right now. They weren’t rich enough to buy proper decorations, but that was fine. No money meant each one of them could enjoy the little things: the fall of the snow, the want to spend time together or even just the hilarity of a dead, poorly decorated Christmas tree. That was enough for Jihyo too, she longed for the days where she could bring them the money to survive a luxurious life but right now they couldn’t do that.

But they were happy with their poor man’s Christmas, it was the closest thing to a family Christmas some of them had ever had. That’s what they were after all, family.

When your stuck in a carriage with nine other girls it’s hard not to get close.


End file.
